


Champion and Hero

by HeithChief



Series: SheithWeek2k16 [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Universe, Established Relationship, Galra Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sheith Week 2016, Sheith Week 2016: Galra Keith/Dark Shiro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-29 01:18:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8470138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeithChief/pseuds/HeithChief
Summary: Sheith Week Day 6 - Galra Keith/Dark Shiro - Canon Universe - Established Relationship (I got super carried away with this one, but I'm most proud of it) Keith awakens from a strange dream partially Changed into his Galra self. Seeking answers he goes to Zarkon who tricks him and captures him along with the red lion. Shiro leads the team to save Keith, but will he accept Keith as Galra? Will he still love Keith?





	

              _“Akira wake up. It’s time for you to come home.”_

              Keith shifted in his bed, a frown forming on his sleeping face. He knew the voice, but at the same time he couldn’t place it. _Akira?_ He didn’t know the name, but at the same time he knew it belonged to him. _“What’s going on?”_ He asked the voice in his dream.

              _“Akira, you’ve done a good job infiltrating the Voltron team, but it’s time for you to come home.”_

_“Home…?”_

_“I took your memories away, son, come to me with the red lion and I’ll explain everything.”_

_“Zarkon!” He suddenly realized._

_“Yes, but you used to know me as your father, Akira.”_

The voice faded and Keith woke up to a blinding pain in his chest. Shaking hands reached up into his hair, but he felt something else there. Galra ears?! This had to be part of the dream, but the pain was so real. He felt slightly sick as he stumbled to the bathroom and flicked on the light. He nearly let out a scream of horror when he saw the purple ears. Purple blotches had blossomed all over the left side of his body like bruises, but he knew that’s not what they were. _I’m part Galra?_ He yanked at his ears and had to cover his mouth to stop himself from letting out a pained yell.

              He shut his eyes tight when he thought of Shiro’s reaction to all of this. _Takashi will hate me. I am part of the alien race that tortured him. I—ugh._ He fell to his knees again as another wave of pain radiated from his chest. _I’m a monster. All this time, they’ll never believe that I didn’t know. I know this is a trap, but I have to go see him. I can’t be here any longer. The Galra are monsters, they’re a poison to everything they touch. I know nothing about this, what if I lose control and turn on them?_

              Keith shakily stood up, fearing his legs wouldn’t hold him. He slowly dressed himself in his paladin uniform and headed out to his lion hanger. Every fiber in his being was tell him this was wrong, but his body was pushing him forward anyway. He got into his lion and without even knowing where he was going, his lion took off toward the Galra’s main ship.

        

* * *

 

              “Sir. How do you know he’ll come?” one of the Galra soldiers asked.

              “Akira will come. I’ve been watching him all this time. He’s already started awakening. That’s the thing about _Keith_ , he knows he’s a danger to his team now. He will sacrifice himself to save the others. Such a _human_ trait. That will be erased when Akira fully awakens.” Zarkon responded with a confident smirk on his lips.

              The bottom hatch of the Galra ship opened as soon as Keith approached. He swallowed and glided the lion slowly into the ship. He was trying to resist the movements, but his body wouldn’t let him. He got out of his lion when he landed in the hanger and removed his helmet. His whole body was alert and the hair on his arms stood on end.

              “Akria, the Galra Prince has returned.” Zarkon called as he entered the room.

              “Don’t act like you gave a shit about me.” Keith spat.

              “That’s the trouble with you being half human, those annoying traits linger.”

              Keith tensed and his mind screamed at him to run. He wasn’t ready to face an entire empire and certainly not by himself. His heart ached for Shiro to be by his side. “How did you contact me like that?”

              “I projected my thoughts into your mind. Only I can do that because you’re my blood. I’ve been watching over you your whole life, Akira. You were my greatest creation. I had to mate with a filthy human, but I killed her after she gave me what I wanted. I know you’re probably wondering why I made you half human in the first place? It was so you could infiltrate the human race and find the Lions. I hoped making you an orphan would make you part of the human race and yet unwanted by them. It worked to some degree until you met that abomination, Shirogane.”

              “You have not right to talk about Shiro that way!” Keith yelled, barely holding himself back from attacking Zarkon. The Galra guards acted immediately and went to restrain Keith, but Zarkon held up a hand to stop them.

              “That’s what I’m talking about. Because I took your Galra memories from you, you only had your human traits. I let it go too far. I should have called you back before you fell in _love_ with him. Love, such a useless emotion. But I couldn’t do that, you weren’t ready yet, you hadn’t found any of the lions. So I took him from you.”

              “You were behind his disappearance? You know, if you’re trying to score points with me, this is a horrible way of going about it.”

              “I took him from you, hoping you’d feel the pain and danger of falling for a human. Also, the pain was supposed to bring about your awakening. Then I thought if you really wanted Shirogane, I would change him into the ultimate solider. Then he could reign by your side. That didn’t work either because he escaped before we could complete his transformation. He still had hope that he would see you again. Nothing we did could crush that. It was maddening.” Zarkon’s frustration turned into a sinister smile as he said the next part. “But even his escape worked to our advantage. That led you to find the lions. So, I let you stay part of the team for the ultimate betrayal. Now you’re here Akira. I do not trust you when you’re only half awakened, so I’ll have to throw you in with the prisoners.”

              Keith couldn’t believe what he was hearing, it shook him down to his core. He didn’t want to believe it, but it stirred and churned inside him like he’d eaten rotten food. The memories came in fragments, but he did have flashes of growing up inside the Galra empire until he was five. The Galra guards jumped at him and he couldn’t even think to fight back. They easily took him away and his lion was transported away for safe keeping.

* * *

 

              “ALLURA!”

              Allura woke up to the shout of her name and was startled to see Shiro leaning over her bed. “Shiro, it’s the middle of the night. Can’t this wait?”

              “Keith is gone.”

              “What?” Allura was still trying make sense of it all. “Are you sure he’s not in the kitchen or training room? I’ve seen him there when he can’t sleep.”

              “No! His lion is gone! He wouldn’t have left the ship without telling me. You know that.” Shiro was shaking with panic and worry. He was surprised he could even make coherent sentences right now.

              Allura was about to respond when Coran burst into the room. “Princess, We’ve received a transmission from Zarkon. I think the whole team should see this.”

              Shiro’s heart stopped. Had Keith gone after Zarkon on his own? Or was he captured somehow by Zarkon?

              Allura jumped out of bed and shooed Shiro out so she could get dressed. Shiro was close on her heels as she went to the main deck. She called an urgent message over the speaker system. “All paladins to the control deck. This is not a drill. Be dressed for battle.”

              Lucikly this time, they had practiced this drill so the paladins knew exactly what to do. It only took them seven minutes to be ready. Lance looked around and noticed Keith was missing immediately. “Where’s Keith? That bastard better be down here soon.” He looked at Allura and Shiro and saw their grim faces.

              “What’s going on?” Pidge asked. “Did something happen to Keith?” Shiro’s eyes widened in disbelief at her ability to read the situation. “Oh come on, Shiro, it’s written all over your face.”

              “That’s what were about to find out. Shiro reported Keith missing and then we received a transmission from Zarkon directly.” Allura announced. The color drained from Hunk’s face and he immediately looked to Shiro. He knew Shiro had to be a nervous wreck and it was taking everything in him to stay calm. Pidge swallowed back her worry, hoping she wasn’t about to lose another person close to her. Lance looked like he was about to explode with a million questions, but Allura held up her hand to stop him. She nodded to Coran and he started the video.

              Zarkon came onto the screen with a smug smile. “Paladins of Voltron. It gives me great pleasure to bring you this message. I now have red lion and your dear paladin Keith in my custody.”

              Shiro felt all of his resolve and strength leave him with those words. He fell to his knees, but his eyes did not leave the screen.

              “The best thing about this, is that was my plan all along. The ‘Keith’ You’ve all known is actually a Galra prince, and my son, Akira. I know this is quite the bomb to drop on you all. He is half human, but I erased all of his Galra memories and sent him to Earth as spy. That plan went better than I expected. Not only did he find all of the lions for me, but he got you all to trust him. Then I tore you apart from the inside out. Tonight, I called him back home and he started to awaken. Don’t believe me? I’ll show you.” The camera flicked to a live feed of a prison cell.

              Shiro knew that cell well and he winced as the déjà vu sent a feeling of nausea through him. Keith was chained to wall, but Zarkon was right, that wasn’t his Keith. There were Galra ears on Keith’s head and his skin was turning purple. “No…” Shiro whispered. Then he saw it. Keith looked directly into the camera and mouthed the words ‘help me’.

              The view came back on to Zarkon’s face. “Good luck stopping the Galra empire now.” With those final words, the screen went black.

              Lance was the first one to explode as always. “Keith betrayed us! I knew there was something fishy about him! Who gets kicked out the Garrison for discipline problems? He let us trust him! But he was working for Galra all along! I’ll kill him, when we take down the Galra, I’ll—!”

              Hunk watched Shiro the whole time. He was unsure how to respond, but Shiro knew Keith better than anyone. Shiro had said nothing, but he violently stood up when Lance started his rant.

              “Shut up Lance!” The entire room went quiet. Shiro had never spoken to any of them like that before. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Keith didn’t have discipline problems! He got kicked out because he wouldn’t stop about his _boyfriend_! I don’t blame because I would have done the same. Didn’t you see Keith’s face in the feed? He was asking for help. I know Keith! He didn’t know about this. If he knew, so would I, so would all of us! We hide nothing. You know that. We’re going to save Keith, let’s go.”

              “Shiro, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Allura stepped between him and Lance. “This is clearly a trap and we can’t form Voltron without the red lion.”

              “Then we need to get it back! We can’t let the Galra win. You know what they did to me, to Pidge’s family. They’ll destroy everything. Keith is my family and I will not leave him behind.”

              Pidge pressed her lips together and went to stand on Shiro’s side. “I agree with Shiro. We need the red lion _and_ Keith.”

              Hunk nodded and stood next to Pidge. “If Shiro believes Keith didn’t know then so do I. I bet he was tricked into going to Zarkon.”

              Lance glared them all down. “I’m against it.” He was the most betrayed by this. Keith had always been his rival and then he let him in, they were friends! They bonded! Now he didn’t know what to think.

              “I hate to say this, but I agree with Lance.” Allura sighed and added reluctantly, “but, I’m siding with Shiro... I know that look, if we don’t go save Keith, Shiro will go on his own. Then we’ll be down not only Keith, but Shiro as well.”

              “Good. Then it’s settled. The Castle will fly us there and help Lance and Hunk with distracting cover fire. Pidge and I will take the green lion and Pidge will drop me into the Galra ship. I know my way around it and I’ll get Keith and his lion out. It will be only me, but you all with be out there for back up. If we have too many of us in the ship, they’ll find us out.”

              Lance unclenched his jaw and nodded. “Fine, but you better be right about this Shiro. I will not die for Keith if he’s a traitor.”

            

* * *

 

              Everything was going to plan when they made it to the main Galra ship. The red lion seemed to be calling out to Shiro, so they didn’t need to search for the mothership. He guessed he could hear Red because of his relationship with Keith. He wondered if Keith was calling out for him and Red was belaying the message. It made him happy in a way, at least when Keith needed him, he knew how to find him.

              The cover fire was working well and the green lion was able to slip through undetected. “Shiro, I’m all for you saving Keith,” Pidge started when they got to underbelly of the ship. “But, I don’t think you should go on your own.”

              “Pidge, it has to be me be. I’m the only one that can rescue him. I know the ship now that a lot of my memories have returned. I will make the least amount of commotion. I’m already worried about Keith, I can’t be worried about you in there too. I’m sorry, Pidge.”

              “I’m not protesting that, but what if this triggers something in you? Zarkon will know we’re coming for him anyway. Plus, the black lion isn’t fighting, won’t he notice that? And your arm is Galra Tech, what if they have a way to control you with it?” Pidge pressed, her green eyes filled with worry.

              “Pidge,” Shiro paused, trying a different tactic. “Don’t fight me on this, they’ll need you out there. The Galra war ships will be being coming out to defend the mothership and attack the castle. They need you. Please open the hatch.”

              Pidge pressed her lips together in a hardline, but she obeyed Shiro. “Fine, but if you need back-up, you better call me. Bring Keith back to us.”

              Shiro gave her a tight-lipped smile and nodded. He snuck onto the ship and closed his eyes to focus on the red lion’s calls. He winced as he had to pull on his memories to get the layout of the ship. He met a Galra soldier along the way and slipped around the corner to let him pass. He slowed and quieted his breath so he wouldn’t be detected. He swiftly snuck behind the enemy and knocked him out. He quickly took his uniform and identification, careful to hide the soldier so he wasn’t found out.

              In his new disguise, he easily made it to the prisoner quarters. He gave identification when asked, but otherwise was not bothered.  He knew it was going too well so far, but he wasn’t going to question it yet.

              “Identification number.” The guards stopped Shiro when he approached Keith’s cell.

              “70018.” He told them without hesitation.

              “State your purpose.”

              “I’ve been sent to try to get information from the prince.”

              The guards, luckily for him, stepped aside and let him pass. Keith shrunk away from the bars when Shiro’s shadow passed over him. “I won’t give you any information!” Keith spat at him.

              “Keith, baby, it’s me.” Shiro said in a low, hushed tone. He looked around and thankfully he was mostly hidden by shadows. He carefully and cautiously removed his helmet.

              “S-Shiro?” There were tears in one of Keith’s eyes. The change caused one of his eyes to turn Galran yellow, while the other one stayed his normal blue-gray. The blue one was the only one that could shed tears.  “I knew you’d come for me. I…”

              “Shhh… We can’t draw too much attention to us.” He held up his Galra hand to the sensor and the door clicked open. He approached Keith, but Keith still kept his distance.

              “Wait, Shiro, I’m a monster. Don’t you hate me? I’m…I’m Galra. I swear I didn’t know I—ugh!” Keith doubled over as the pain started in his chest and radiated out to his limbs. What had started out as just purple blotches, had now taken over his entire left side.

              “Keith!” Shiro cried out and scrambled over to catch Keith before he could fall. He held Keith in his arms gently, but protectively.

              “I knew I was coming into a trap.” He continued, “but my body didn’t listen to my brain. The Galra part of me made me come here, I couldn’t stop myself. It hurts so bad, Shiro, I just want it to stop. I’m afraid I’m losing myself, I’m becoming Akira.”

              “Keith, slow down. We’ll figure this out together.” He rubbed Keith’s back soothingly.

              “No!” Keith tried to pull away, but Shiro wouldn’t let him go. More tears spilled from Keith’s right eye and the sobs shook his body. “I’ll end up hurting you.”

              “I don’t believe that.” He placed a gentle hand on the Galra side of Keith’s face, cupping his face tenderly. “Do you still love me?”

              Keith didn’t even think of hesitating. “What kind of question is that? Of course, I love you! That was never a lie or pretend.”

              “That’s what’s keeping you human. I know it. When I was here, I kept my dark side at bay and fought to stay alive because I loved and still love you. I knew you were waiting for me to come back, so I couldn’t give up.”

              “That was your ultimate downfall. You would have made a perfect Galra soldier. You were and still are weakened by _love._ It makes you predictable. Of course, you’d come to save ‘Keith’.”

              Shiro froze and recognized that voice immediately. “Zarkon!” They turned to see the Galra ruler standing above them with a mocking smile on his face.

              “If you had just let yourself be taken over by your darkness, I would have let you have Akria. You would’ve made the perfect right hand man to the prince, _Champion_.” Zarkon smiled what was supposed to be a warm smile, at Keith. “You’re almost there Akira. I’m so proud. Awaken Akira, and kill the champion. He’s trying to keep you from your real life, from your father.”

              Keith let out a scream of agony. His single blue eye clouded over with evil yellow. The majority of his right side was still his normal skin tone, but he was now one step closer.

              “Good, Akira.”

              “Keith!” Shiro yelled, trying to call him back. “He didn’t want you. He sent you to Earth with nothing but a name: Keith. Not even your real name. He made you feel alone, isolated, and unwanted! I want you as both Keith and Akira. It doesn’t matter to me, it’s still you.”

              The manacles around Keith’s wrists fell away and Zarkon threw Keith his bayard. “ _Now_ Akira.” The bayard transformed into Keith’s double edged sword. Keith charged at Shiro, but Shiro didn’t make a move to stop him. Not even when Keith pressed the blade against his neck, did he try to defend himself. He stayed calm, trusted him, and wanted to show confidence in _his_ Keith. “You won’t hurt me.” He murmured, careful not to move his neck too much.

“Silly human traits. He’s holding you back, Akira. Kill him.” Zarkon kept using Keith’s Galra name, not out of love or even respect, but only to try to bring about the full Change. Shiro’s heart rate spiked as he suddenly felt blood drip down his neck. The cut was shallow. Keith had no malice behind his blade.

Keith’s right eye suddenly flashed back to blue and he dropped his weapon. He threw his hands up and backed away from Shiro. “No! I can’t—I won’t!” Shiro had a shadow of a doubt, but he still knew Keith wouldn’t go through with it. Keith ran forward, against his better judgement, and collapsed into Shiro’s arms. A single tear left his blue eye and rolled down his cheek. “I made you bleed, I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” He repeated, wiping the blood with his hand.

“It’s only a scratch, Keith. You didn’t hurt me, there wasn’t any force behind—”

Zarkon took advantage of their moment of distraction and ran his sword through Shiro’s torso. He didn’t get the sword where he wanted because Keith was in the way, but it would have to do. “Consume Keith, Akria. Feel his pain and let it feed you.”

Keith scream of agony was even more excruciating and louder than the first. The purple color quickly overtook the rest of Keith’s skin and his blue eye was once again lost.

“Akira, welcome back, my son.” Zarkon grinned. “Let’s take down the rest of the Voltron force together.”

“Keith…” Shiro grabbed onto Keith’s wrist, his voice was weak. “Tell Pidge I’m sorry. Escape and lead Voltron for me.”

Keith picked up his bayard and aimed the sword at Shiro’s heart. “The Keith you knew is gone.”

Zarkon’s sinister grin widened. “Good! Good! Finish him off!”

A dark aura surrounded Keith and he raised the sword higher, bringing it down for a strike. At the last second, he rounded on Zarkon and plunged it through Zarkon’s heart. The leader of Galra was brought down by his own hubris. He was so confident that the Change would make Keith immediately and ultimately loyal to him. He had let Keith’s words trick him. Keith’s right eye once again turned blue and tears were streaming down his face.

“You hurt my Takashi, _again, and_ you thought that would make me loyal? That’s your downfall. You don’t understand humans, so you can’t beat them. You think you can predict their behavior, but that’s where love becomes a strength. We will anything to save the ones we love. You think I always wanted the father I never had so badly, but I didn’t need him. Blood means nothing to me. I already have a family!”

“A…kir…a.” Zarkon reached out toward his son with his last breath, but he lightly was quickly fading from his eyes.

Keith closed his eyes and called Red to him. He felt it, Red answered him and was on his way. _Thank you, Red, I’m sorry._ He knelt at Shrio’s side and quickly ripped his jacket into strips. He wrapped Shiro’s wound the best he could and pressed the excess fabric to soak up the blood. “I think he missed your vital organs. Red is coming. I’ll get you to a cryo-pod. You’ll be okay. I love you.”

“Go Keith, you can make it. I’ll only slow you down.”

“Don’t give me that stereotypical crap! I’ll never leave you behind. You came for me and I would have done the same back then if I had known where you were. Whatever I’m supposed to be apologizing to Pidge for, you can do it yourself!”

Red burst into the dungeon, opening the hatch for his paladin. Keith wrapped Shiro’s arm around his shoulders and wound his arm around Shiro’s waist. He quickly boarded his lion and laid Shiro down carefully. “Stay with me, baby, I’ll make this ride a smooth as possible.” He sat in the driver’s seat and patted the armrests. _Good Kitty_. He smiled, recalling the first time he’d risked his life for Red.

The commotion caught the attention of the Galra soldiers and guards who came pouring into the room. They started furiously blasting at Red. Their power could do nothing against Keith’s rage right now. Fire poured out of Red’s mouth, carving a path for them to escape.

“Talk to me Shiro, please so I know you’re still with me. Tell me anything.” His voice was full of panic and worry.

It took a minute, but Shiro’s voice came, barely above a whisper. Keith could barely make it out. “I love you Keith. When you were in captivity, Red called out tome. He felt your desperation and gave it to me. I trust you completely and I’ll always fight for you.”

Shiro’s words gave Keith confidence. They mowed down every enemy in their path. Finally, they burst out of the mothership, leaving behind a fiery, gaping hole.

“Guys!” Pidge shouted excitedly, “It’s Red! They’re out.”

“Fall back! Paladins, return to the castle.” Allura yelled, her voice strained from the stress.

The paladins followed orders and immediately headed back to their hangers. The castle sent out blasts to cover them. They raced to the red lion’s hanger to meet Keith and Shiro. The red lion quickly opened up to let them out. “Coran!” Keith yelled the minute he saw them. “Take Shiro off to heal, right away!” Coran didn’t ask questions. He and Hunk carried Shiro off to the cryo-pods. Keith let out a breath and retreated back to his lion. He saw Lance’s surprise and took it negatively. He quickly turned his face away.

“Keith, where are you going?”

“I’m leaving. I’m a monster. I don’t belong here any longer.” He wanted to be by Shiro’s side, but he couldn’t do that. He’d end up hurting them all.

“YES YOU DO! Shiro’s and your headsets were on the whole time. We heard everything. Your speech to Zarkon. You are right, we _are_ family!”

“That was one moment! I don’t know if I can control this.”

“FINE! If you ever lose control, I’ll personally lock away in pod and put you to sleep. Shiro will kill us if we let you go.” Even when Lance was trying to apologize, they were yelling.

“Keith!” Hunk came running back, doubling over to catch his breath. “Don’t you dare leave us. Shiro said you’d try. He gave a message for you. He said he loves you as Keith and Akira and you could have hurt him back there, but you didn’t. He believed you wouldn’t hurt him even when you tricked Zarkon. He trusts you completely. He said you will get through this together. He also said remember how you felt when he disappeared. He will feel that for you. He’ll come searching for you endlessly. You have all of us, we’re your family. You said so! We still need Voltron.” Hunk was blushing a little while relaying the message. He’d never experienced that sort of love, but he hoped he would one day. He supposed that’s what made Shiro and Keith so strong. They had a partner who would do absolutely anything for the other because of love. “We need you too, Keith.”

Pidge nodded in agreement. “Please don’t make me lose anyone else!”

Keith took a deep breath and stepped away from his lion. He suddenly felt exhausted and nearly collapsed. He only realized now how much the Change had taken out of him. “Fine, I’ll stay, but the minute I show any loss of control, lock me away. I’m going to bed.” Keith followed them back and then veered off to his own room.

* * *

 

Shiro slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear the bleariness. His hands automatically felt down his side. His armor was damaged, but the wound had healed. He carefully stepped out the cyro-pod, eyes scanning for Keith. The rest of the team was waiting, but Keith was not there. “How long have I been out?”

“A week, but you’re fully healed now.” Coran answered.

“How are you feeling?” Allura asked.

He quickly brushed her off. “Fine. Good as new. Where is he?” They looked between each other, making Shiro worry. “Did he leave? Did my message to him not work?” He panicked.

“No, it’s not that. He’s in his room. He’s not doing well. We haven’t seen him since he brought the two of him back. We leave food for him three times a day. Sometimes he eats one meal, sometimes two, but never all three. We only ever see the empty dishes. I think he purposefully leaves them when he knows we’re not nearby. Coran’s tried to get him to at least let us give him an exam. We don’t quite know what the Change did to him.” Hunk filled him in.

“I’ve even tried challenging him to sparring matches or races in our lions. Nothing.” Lance added before looking down at the floor guiltily. “Oh and I’m sorry Shiro. I was wrong about Keith. I should have trusted you. You know Keith better than any of us. I let my anger control me.”

Shiro smiled at Lance and patted his shoulder. “It’s all right, buddy I know. Did you apologize to Keith?”

Lance winced. “Kind of? I told him we were family and he needed to say with us.”

“Close enough.” He looked at them. “Did you hear what he did?”

Allura smiled with pride. “Yes, we know. The whole universe knows. Celebrations have broken out everywhere. The Galra have been in hiding trying to regroup their forces. They’re all attacking on their own accord, lost without their leader. They might try to come for Keith since they all know he’s the rightful heir. We have won the battle, but I fear there will still be a war. Keith is our hero he and Red took down so many Galra soldiers.”

“Also! Keith saved our leader, but right now, he needs you.” Pidge looked up at him. “You are the only one who might understand. We’re glad you’re okay, Shiro.”

Shiro ruffled Pidge’s hair. “Thanks, Pidge.” He thanked Coran for taking care of him and headed off to Keith’s room. He knocked on the door. “Keith?”

The door flew open the minute Keith heard his voice. “You’re awake! I…thought maybe I hadn’t gotten you there in time.”

“You did. You saved me.” He backed Keith into the room and joined him, shutting the door behind them. He wanted to scold Keith for not eating properly and shutting the team out, but now wasn’t the time. He needed to reassure Keith first. He walked over and sat on Keith’s bed, leaning again the wall. With a smile, he patted the space between his legs.

Keith shifted from foot to foot, chewing his lip in indecision. “Shiro…”

“Baby, you couldn’t hurt me, remember? Not even after you awakened. True, you scared me there, but I knew you wouldn’t do it. I knew _my_ Keith was still in there.” Shiro’s voice was soft and soothing. He reached his arms out for Keith and refused to put them down until Keith would join him. Keith was cautious at first and sat down slowly. Once he was close enough, he couldn’t help himself. He let himself snuggle into Shiro’s chest and the embrace.

“If you hadn’t woken up, I wouldn’t have stayed. I would have had no reason to. I know they’re like my family, but I don’t know what your death would have done to me.” Keith wasn’t usually a touchy person, but when it came to Shiro, he couldn’t keep his hands away.

“Shh…it’s all right now.” He stroked Keith’s hair, knowing that always soothed. Out of curiousity his hands drifted to Keith’s Galra ears. They were as soft as he thought they’d be. He expected Keith to flinch away, but he immediately leaned into the touch. Shiro’s fingers stroked and scratched behind the ears. They reminded him a bit of cat ears, but he wouldn’t tell Keith that. A soft purring noise had started in the back of Keith’s throat and escaped through his lips. Keith’s eyes were closed and Shiro wondered for a moment if Keith even realized he was doing it.

“Well, that’s new.” He joked.

Keith blushed and hid his face. The purrs stopping abruptly out of Keith’s embarrassment. “Oh…I didn’t…I couldn’t help it. That just felt to nice. Who knew aliens purred?”

Shiro laughed. Keith’s sense of humor always got him. “I don’t know if any the Galrans know they do that. I doubt they go around petting each other’s ears.”

Keith laughed with him. “No I suppose not. They do seem less intimidating now that I know this.”

Shiro resumed his petting and Keith nuzzled into the touches, purring again. _That’s so cute. I won’t embarrass him because I don’t want it to stop._

“Shiro?” Keith asked after a little while. “Why don’t you hate me? Or Are you afraid of me? I’m Galra and part of the race that captured you, took your arm, and tortured you.”

“Maybe because now I know you purr when your ears are stroked.”

Keith elbowed Shiro in the stomach and pouted at him. “I’m serious. This should be triggering painful memories for you. I was almost afraid you wouldn’t come if you knew. I was afraid the moment you came and saw what I was you’d leave me in that cell to rot.”

“Never. You’re not one of them. First, you’re part human. Second, you weren’t raised in their culture. That’s where you are different from them. Zarkon messed up when it came to you. He thought your Galra side would consume your human side, but it didn’t. If he wanted you to be loyal, he shouldn’t have isolated you. He should have raised you like a real father, but he doesn’t know how to do that. He motivates with death and torture. He took everything from you. Blood is not family, right?” Keith nodded, tearing up. Shiro cupped Keith’s cheek and wiped the tears away with his thumb. He continued to stroke Keith’s cheek. “You’re still my Keith. You still have your sense of humor, your fierce love and passion for justice. I still love you.”

Keith couldn’t even doubt Shiro if he wanted to. Every gesture, every word, every look in his eyes showed love and sincerity. “What if all that disappears? Just because my Galra side didn’t fully consume me this time doesn’t mean it won’t eventually.”

“Keith. Why didn’t you kill me?”

“Because I love you! Because I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you again. I thought about our time apart and the time we shared at the Garrison. I wanted to be by your side, always.”

“And it worked because that’s the total opposite of Galra. The anti-galra. Think of that any time you feel any pain or urges from the Change. I’ll fight to stay by your side as long as you promise to do the same for me.”

“I do, but what if the Change comes in my sleep like it did the first time?” He was trying to be okay. He was trying to believe in Shiro’s unwavering optimism, but there were so many unknowns. What love stopped being enough? What if he couldn’t think about Shiro in time? What if Shiro was forced away from him?

“Keith?” Shiro tapped his face gently with the thumb. “Did you hear me?” Keith looked guilty and shook his head. “It’s all right. I said ‘Then we’ll sleep together every night. You were there for me for all of my nightmares. You let me wake you up in the middle of the night for comfort. Let me do the same for you’.”

“Sleeping together every night? Sounds exhausting.”

Shiro let out a little snort through his nose and rested his head on Keith’s shoulder. “Yes, I want to do _that_ again, but not yet. Let’s take one day at a time.”

Keith kissed the top of Shiro’s head. “You’ll do it all for me anyway, if I say no.”

He chuckled and left a kiss on Keith’s shoulder. “Yes I will, you stubborn paladin.” Keith looked at him in surprised. Shiro looked up and shook his head and disbelief. “Red still responded to you after the Change. He came running into save you. Of course, you’re still his paladin. You killed Zarkon and many, many, soldiers, but we still need Voltron to finish off the empire.”

“I did do that…” Keith said like he just realized it.

“You did. I’m so proud of you.” Shiro leaned in and kissed him. Keith let out a small whine of pleasure and Shiro smiled into the kiss. Keith pressed closer, their lips parted and tongues came together. Keith moaned and ran his tongue over Shiro’s, taking in the taste of him like it was the last time. Shiro reached up and stroked Keith’s ears. Keith’s entire body convulsed as a shiver of pure bliss overtook him. Shiro felt Keith’s purr vibrate into his mouth and _damn_ did that feel good.

Shiro pulled back, breathless, careful not to overstimulate Keith too much right now. He looked at Keith and gasped in surprise.

“What?” Keith panicked. “Did I do something wrong?” He looked at Shiro’s arms, they did have faint scratch marks along them. “Did my claws hurt you? I’m sorry, I know I was clinging onto your arms tightly.”

Keith’s words were stopped when Shiro placed a finger against Keith’s lips. He looked and saw the scratches. They were barely white marks. “Oh, I didn’t even notice that. You did fine, baby, better than fine. It all felt good as it usually does, maybe even a bit better. It’s just your eyes.” He kept his finger there to stop anything Keith would say. “They’re both your natural blue. Not just the right one.”

Keith gasped and grinned excitedly. “Really?”

“You could have a look for yourself, but I wouldn’t lie to you. I think I just discovered something. I think I know how to keep your Galra side at bay. Kissing, touching, love, caring, and friendship. Those are all human traits and practices. Galrans don’t have or know those! That’s why loved worked to stop you from hurting me. That’s why Zarkon couldn’t and didn’t realize if he wanted you to be loyal, he had to love you. We just need to treat you like a human. I don’t know if the purple is reversible, but we’ll have to see.” Shiro was mirroring Keith’s excitement now.

Keith let out a gasp and his eyes grew wide. “I think you’re right. Also, if that means more kissing than I’m up for it.”

Shiro ruffled Keith’s hair and Keith closed and eye, smiling happily. “I meant to ask you before. Would you want me to call you Akira now? Since it’s your real name?”

“Never!” Keith glared and shouted. “Don’t ever call me that! That’s my dad’s name for me. I only hear his condescending tone when I hear that name.”

Shiro held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry, calm down.” Keith gasped, realized how uncontrollable that anger had just been. Shiro placed his hand on Keith’s shoulders. “Hey, it’s okay. I just wanted to ask. You’ve always been Keith to us. Oh, but call me Takashi all you want like you used to. I miss that.”

Keith smiled. “I guess I just got out habit. It’s a deal.”

“We should go see everyone soon. They should have dinner ready by now.”

Keith whined and pouted at Shiro. “Do we have to?”

“Keith.” Shiro’s tone was suddenly serious. “I heard from them that you haven’t been eating well. You’ve also avoided them all week. Coran should examine you, you know.”

Keith looked into his lap to hide his guilt. His Galra ears turned down like a cat when it’s ashamed. “I…I was depressed. I thought I’d gotten you killed and I’m now a monster.”

Shiro softened and took Keith’s face in his hand, squishing it a bit. “Don’t let me hear you calling yourself a monster any more. You’re not. You’re my boyfriend and I won’t take that talk. I’m not mad, I guess I would have acted the same if our positions were flipped.

“I bet Hunk will have a special dinner prepared since I’m out of the pod. Also, we haven’t celebrated you yet, hero.” He gave him a quick kiss. “Please change your clothes, first.”

Keith smiled sheepishly and got up. “Right.” He pulled off his shirt and replaced it with a clean one.

Shiro watched shamelessly. “As much as I thought you were beautiful before, purple really suits you. It brings out the blue in your eyes.”

“Takashi!” Keith blushed.

“Hey, you changed in front of me, darling.” He turned around, “But I’ll turn around to respect your modesty, prince.”

“Shut up, you had to go and make it embarrassing. It’s different when we’re doing it because I’m in the mood.” Keith blushed and finished dressing. Shiro turned around and led them out of the room. Keith suddenly lost his confidence now that they were out in the open. Shiro smiled sideways and took his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. “Thank you.”

The others were already seated at the table talking amongst themselves. They went suddenly quiet when the pair entered the room. Keith’s anxiety bubbled up in his throat and his eyes burned with the threat of tears. He wanted to run. Hunk stood up and clapped, looking directly at Keith. The others smiled and joined Hunk. “Good thing you came to your celebration, Hero and Shiro. That would have been awkward.” Hunk joked and the tightness in Keith’s chest dissipated.

“Geez Keith, had to go off on your own and steal all the glory. Not fair. I wanted to be the hero.” Lance smiled and clapped Keith on the back.

“Of course you would, always want all the attention on yourself.” Keith smirked, falling easily into his normal pattern with Lance.

“Where it should be.”

“Well, we Alteans can’t thank you enough, Keith.” Allura grinned.

They sat down to eat and Shiro kept a hand on Keith’s thigh. His touch seemed to keep Keith calm. Keith only really allowed Shiro to touch him and it made Shiro feel special.

“You’re all doing a good job so far, but I need to discuss something with you all. We need to treat Keith as normal as possible. From a little experimentation, Keith and I believe that treating Keith like a human represses his Galra side. It happened on Zarkon’s ship and today. Notice now that both of his eyes are blue again. His left one had been stuck Galra yellow before. That happened because of our experimentation.”

Keith shifted awkwardly, wanting the attention anywhere but on him. “That is true, but we can’t act like nothing ‘Changed’. Our experiments are still in the early stages. We don’t know much yet, but We’ll see. Thank you for making me stay. I learned that it could be possible…”

Coran grinned at them. “That’s fascinating and wonderful news.” The others nodded in agreement.

“I’ll be watching over Keith and staying by his side, as much possible, because the results have been strongest with me.” Shiro squeezed Keith’s knee under the table. Keith gave him a weak smile in return.

“And you’ll have to let me run some tests.” Coran shook his finger at Keith, who groaned.

“We’ve got your back, Keith.” Pidge smiled at him.

As dinner ended Shiro started feeling worn down. “You should go and rest. You did just get out the cryo-pod today.” Allura told Shiro who nodded and stood up. Keith followed looked at Shiro and followed suit.

“Keith wait! Come spar with me. I want to see if your Change gave you any special Galra strength or power.” Lance called after him, waving his fists in the air.

Keith looked back at Shiro, warily, and swallowed nervously. “Not yet Lance,” Shiro answered for him. “We’re happy you’re accepting this so well, but fighting of any kind probably isn’t a good idea right now.”

Lance’s face fell. “Oh yeah…” He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. He wanted to say comment about Shiro answering for Keith, but he saved it.

“Maybe tomorrow when Takashi isn’t too tired.” Keith told him.

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Takashi?” He mocked and Keith bristled.

“Hey!” Shiro stepped in between them. He crossed his arms to show his seriousness even if he was smiling. “Only Keith is allowed to call me that.” Shiro winked at Keith and Keith felt tingles up and down his spine. ‘

“What? No fair!” Lance protested.

“They’re in loooove. They’re allowed to do that.” Pidge teased and Keith winked at her.

“But it would be interesting to see how you would be in battle, Keith. It’d be cautious and I’d step in at any signs of danger.” Shiro told Lance.

“It would be an interesting thing to study.” Coran butt in.

“Tomorrow then.” Keith said quickly, pulling Shiro out the room. They decided to go to Shiro’s room since it was the cleaner of the two. Keith flopped onto the bed. He wasn’t used to all that attention. Being an introvert, people really exhausted Keith.

“Keith,” Shiro noticed his exhaustion. “Let me know if you need alone time and I’ll give you some space.”

“That’s not it. Being around you makes me feel human and I need that right now. I like the excuse to be around you all time. I miss when we used to sneak into each other’s beds at the Garrison.”

Shiro laughed. “I almost forgot about that.”

Keith smiled. “So don’t go anywhere, I like you here.”

Shiro slid into bed and held Keith close. “Good. I’ll be here, then.”  


End file.
